Week Fifty-eight: Remembering to Love Your Body

In my work with people who face life-threatening illness, or who are preparing for surgery of some kind, an underlying theme that emerges is that our bodies are precious gifts without which we cannot live. This is an obvious statement, but it’s surprising how easily we can forget that our bodies are the means by which we are able to be in the world and, because of this, deserve our deep love, gratitude, and support.

During the day, I often find myself patting some part of my body or another and saying, “Thank you,” for something that my body allows me to experience or do. It might seem strange to imagine literally thanking your body, but there is actually something quite tangible that happens when we express gratitude actively and directly to our bodies. There is also a deep healing power in transmitting love to our bodies as a general expression of our recognition that we need our bodies in order to live and that our bodies serve us every moment of every day.

Sometimes, loving our bodies may be difficult because we have a physical condition that causes us embarrassment, discomfort, or pain. When this happens, the practice of loving our bodies can be a challenge and, at times, it might be necessary to act “as if” we feel this love even when we can’t actually tap into the experience.

For this week, I invite you to explore loving your body, to remember that everything begins with the body, in terms of being in the world and being able to explore and enjoy all the senses we take for granted. Notice, are there particular foods, activities, self-care approaches that support your body’s well-being and general health that you intend to engage but forget or overlook? What would it be like for you to find the extra time and energy to offer your body what it needs? And, what would you experience if you were to take two minutes each day to focus on feelings of gratitude for your body’s service to you?

Remember to approach this experiment with curiosity and a willingness to sit with mixed feelings. The gift of mixed feelings is that they allow us to discover beliefs and attitudes that we might want to reconsider now that we’re more mature and have more information. Whatever emerges, I hope you’ll find that taking a few minutes a day simply to love your body offers you a sense of connection to yourself that is both fulfilling and healing.

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